Educators discuss Minn. education gap

Of the more than 44,000 high school juniors and seniors who took the ACT this year in Minnesota, the state’s minority students’ average score was 3.8 points lower than their white counterparts.

These scores directly correlate with the achievement gap found in higher education, a problem that plagues the American education system and reveals disparities of academic performance based on gender, race and socioeconomic status.

“In and of itself, it’s a problem we should be trying to solve,” St. Paul Federation of Teachers President Mary Cathryn Ricker said at a panel discussion on the issue at Macalester College on Wednesday. “It can also frame the broader conversation of what teaching and learning should look like in the 21st century.”

The panel was made up of administrators, legislators and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

About 200 educators and students listened in on the panelists’ views on improving the education system in Minnesota, namely K-12.

This year, the Minnesota State Demographic Center found that the percent of minorities in Minnesota’s schools has tripled since 1990, and it’s projected to continue to increase. The state’s minority population is expected to reach 25 percent in 2035, meaning that closing the achievement gap is crucial for education in Minnesota.

How wide the gap is can be determined by educational factors such as grade point average, dropout and college-enrollment rates and standardized test scores like the ACT.

Of the nearly 560,000 postsecondary enrollments in Minnesota in fall 2009, 252,725 were white students. Blacks made up the second largest ethnic group with 25,764.

Minnesota is becoming less white and less European, Coleman said. “It is becoming a very diverse demographic … with people from all over the world.”

The panelists applauded the achievements and efforts that have already been made and stressed the continuing need for immediate action.

“I think at this point, after being [in this position] for a year, I’m the right person, at the right time, in the right place,” St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Valeria Silva said. “It has made me realize that I have a tremendous challenge [on] my shoulders … This is a job that can’t be done alone.”

Ricker said the result of the Minnesota gubernatorial race would have a huge impact on education, citing the candidates’ starkly different views on funding education.

Whatever the result, Coleman said finding solutions to this issue is part of every Minnesotan’s responsibility.

“If you don’t close the achievement gap, those high-tech companies that are so dependent on educated workers will not have the workers that they need to continue and … they’ll look elsewhere. They’ll look at other parts of the country, they’ll look at other parts of the region or they’ll look at other parts of the globe.”